 | CONNELL GRANGE SUPPLY WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS STILL THE COMPANY |
|
Printable Page
09/30 09:11 CDT Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown's hearing for expected plea deal in
attempted murder case postponed
Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown's hearing for expected plea deal in attempted murder
case postponed
By ALANIS THAMES
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) --- Former NFL star wide receiver Antonio Brown's court hearing
where he was expected to accept a plea deal allowing him to avoid prison time
in an attempted murder case was postponed Wednesday.
Brown arrived in a Miami courtroom Wednesday morning and was ready to plead no
contest to aggravated assault and be sentenced to probation, his lawyer said.
But a Florida judge said she was in the middle of another trial and not ready
to go forward with the plea deal. The hearing was pushed back to Oct. 28.
Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a
celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16, 2025, and firing two shots at a man
he had been in a fistfight with earlier, according to an arrest warrant.
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu told investigators one of the bullets grazed his
neck.
Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said Brown was looking forward to putting the
case behind him. Eiglarsh said the plea deal reached with prosecutors was too
good to turn down and that it says Brown would not be considered a convicted
felon.
"It's a setback because it's another month that my client has an ankle monitor
on and doesn't have closure, which everybody in this case wants," Eiglarsh said
after the hearing was postponed. He said he was "cautiously optimistic" the
judge would agree to the terms.
Brown could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original
attempted murder charge. He has said on social media that he was defending
himself from an attack and others were trying to steal jewelry from him.
Florida's Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or
serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to
retreat.
Nantambu said after Wednesday's postponed hearing that he hopes Brown will take
advantage of the plea deal to "become a better person and be there for his
family."
"We want him to get the healing that he needs," he said.
Richard Cooper, an attorney for Nantambu, said Nantambu forgave Brown and would
not cooperate with law enforcement.
At one point in the court's hallway, Brown slipped on a dark mask while talking
to his attorney and then pulled it off before going into the hearing.
Brown, 38, spent 12 years in the NFL and was an All-Pro wide receiver who last
played in 2021 for Tampa Bay, including winning a Super Bowl with quarterback
Tom Brady.
Over the course of his career, much of it spent with Pittsburgh, he had 928
receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns,
including punt returns and one pass.
During a 2021 game with Tampa Bay against the New York Jets, Brown took off his
jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field, leading to his release
by the Buccaneers and effectively ending his career.
Brown has dealt with several legal problems over the years. He previously was
accused of battery of a moving truck driver, several domestic violence charges,
failure to pay child support and other incidents.
Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai, where he has business
interests, after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in
June of the same year.
